1. This is the image that inspired my design because it made me wonder what was underneath the red sheet. I looked up the Google search "The Emperor Jones" and clicked on the images section just to see what was already out there. Then after reading the play as a class I decided to focus on the fragility of his power and the image of cardboard boxes filled in the gap of what could be under the sheet. Then I just extrapolated my idea.
2. In one of the earliest classes when we were told to present our ideas in a form, this is what I created. I didn't have any initial drawings, just a mental image of what I wanted. Majority of these chairs are to represent where a box would be. The table it a the general height of the mid section and the ladder is another large pile. At the top is where the Emperor's throne would be. Some of the chairs would have audience members.
3. This is the picture I made to represent what my stage would look like from an audience perspective. The straight lines are a flat wall at the back of the stage made up of different shaped cardboard boxes that completely fill the space. In front of it would be the larger collection of boxes. On the left is the space that was previously represented by the ladder, the table is the mid section and then the mound on the right would double up as a puppet of the head of the crocodile.
4. This picture is the closest that I could find to what I want my set to appear like. There are all these cardboard boxes but together they look like a real building. I wanted my set to achieve this similar feel because it would make more of an impact when the boxes break down and the audience realises that it was only just cardboard boxes. His power had no strength.
5. My stage space. Working on the model of my stage I made a cut out of my drawing to show my levels. With the help of Serge, we created the image at the back of the model to represent the wall of boxes. In the front is a smaller box model to try and show the size of the average box and put it into perspective.
6. This is a version of my set much further along. I had tossed and turned with the idea of breaking up the large collection and I did. The tall black box and the smaller rectangular one are spaces for crew members and actors to move around in. On the right is the beginnings of the crocodile mouth. Instead of having a large structure, I decided to make the mouth much smaller and just to cover it with more boxes. The squares at the front of the stage is space for audiences members to sit and have a more inclusive experience. Boxes would be littered from the structures all the way into the audience.
7. When the boxes exploded, this is what I wanted to come out. Just a complete mess of vines that encompass the stage. The boxes have an ordered look to them, it is the function of a box. They help to maintain order. However nature doesn't often follow the rules of order, so the vines is chaos taking away the order and control of Jones.
8. As my design progressed I realised that I needed more versatility in my space. I thought that having a structure of a staircase would work for my set because it would provide definition for the placement of boxes. I also made a throne for Jones to sit upon which was inspired by an image I found while searching for cardboard box structures. I also gave the crocodile mouth a top to make it more stable, give it more shape, and easier to hide.
9. This picture of a crocodile was what gave me the inspiration for the animal in the set. When you first look at the picture you could mistake it for a log or a sculpture. That is the effect that I wanted in my set. You think that it is just a mountain when in reality the expansion of Jones' power what hiding the power and ferocity of nature. Everything isn't as it first appears.
10. This is the last picture I took of my set before the final photographs. It has the general layout of my set just without the hundreds and hundreds of boxes that I had made. I still like my design idea and I think it would be incredible to stage, however such a budget is way out of my league.
I think pic 4 is amazing...would make an astonishing set just by itself...sort of like a "house of cards"...a more than adequate portfolio...pix 9 and 10 work really well...and your explanations are precise. HD-
2. In one of the earliest classes when we were told to present our ideas in a form, this is what I created. I didn't have any initial drawings, just a mental image of what I wanted. Majority of these chairs are to represent where a box would be. The table it a the general height of the mid section and the ladder is another large pile. At the top is where the Emperor's throne would be. Some of the chairs would have audience members.
3. This is the picture I made to represent what my stage would look like from an audience perspective. The straight lines are a flat wall at the back of the stage made up of different shaped cardboard boxes that completely fill the space. In front of it would be the larger collection of boxes. On the left is the space that was previously represented by the ladder, the table is the mid section and then the mound on the right would double up as a puppet of the head of the crocodile.
4. This picture is the closest that I could find to what I want my set to appear like. There are all these cardboard boxes but together they look like a real building. I wanted my set to achieve this similar feel because it would make more of an impact when the boxes break down and the audience realises that it was only just cardboard boxes. His power had no strength.
5. My stage space. Working on the model of my stage I made a cut out of my drawing to show my levels. With the help of Serge, we created the image at the back of the model to represent the wall of boxes. In the front is a smaller box model to try and show the size of the average box and put it into perspective.
6. This is a version of my set much further along. I had tossed and turned with the idea of breaking up the large collection and I did. The tall black box and the smaller rectangular one are spaces for crew members and actors to move around in. On the right is the beginnings of the crocodile mouth. Instead of having a large structure, I decided to make the mouth much smaller and just to cover it with more boxes. The squares at the front of the stage is space for audiences members to sit and have a more inclusive experience. Boxes would be littered from the structures all the way into the audience.
7. When the boxes exploded, this is what I wanted to come out. Just a complete mess of vines that encompass the stage. The boxes have an ordered look to them, it is the function of a box. They help to maintain order. However nature doesn't often follow the rules of order, so the vines is chaos taking away the order and control of Jones.
8. As my design progressed I realised that I needed more versatility in my space. I thought that having a structure of a staircase would work for my set because it would provide definition for the placement of boxes. I also made a throne for Jones to sit upon which was inspired by an image I found while searching for cardboard box structures. I also gave the crocodile mouth a top to make it more stable, give it more shape, and easier to hide.
9. This picture of a crocodile was what gave me the inspiration for the animal in the set. When you first look at the picture you could mistake it for a log or a sculpture. That is the effect that I wanted in my set. You think that it is just a mountain when in reality the expansion of Jones' power what hiding the power and ferocity of nature. Everything isn't as it first appears.
10. This is the last picture I took of my set before the final photographs. It has the general layout of my set just without the hundreds and hundreds of boxes that I had made. I still like my design idea and I think it would be incredible to stage, however such a budget is way out of my league.
I think pic 4 is amazing...would make an astonishing set just by itself...sort of like a "house of cards"...a more than adequate portfolio...pix 9 and 10 work really well...and your explanations are precise. HD-